Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged Movie Pondering

In my world , the recent buzz caused by the upcoming release of the movie Atlas Shrugged has had me thinking;  Why did the book influence my thought process so much?  Well the answer is it did not.  It only clarified it.  Rand merely stripped away the veneer of politically correct thinking, peer pressure group think and irrational theory that was clouding otherwise rational thought. I have to admit, this didn't happen all at once for me.  Three things happened.  The most obvious is I was pulled into the story because it's well... a good story.  It's compelling.  The characters are very easy to  like, hate, cheer for and despise. 

Second: I came to realize is that I was rooting for the "wrong guys" from today's politically correct template.  OK not a big stretch for me, but no one has ever said it that loud.  It reminded me of when I first started listening to talk radio in 1990.  At this time in my life I had just left the military and was working in a field that required lots of driving.  The gulf war had just started and I found myself listening to the news every chance I could.  As the war went on there was less reporting and the only person talking about it was Rush and I found myself tuning in.  I thought I was the only person in the world that listened to the guy.  I mean holy shit! "He's saying all the things I already knew (for the most part), just more clearly.  And it kinda scared me.  It scared me because i thought I was the only one. 

Well as it turned out I was not the only one.  I remember one day a subcontractor showed up on my work site and overheard Rush's program I had playing on the radio. "You listen to that guy?  Thought I was the only one"  So what did Rush and rand do to me?  They made me think,  they made me realize I'm not alone in my thinking.  And while I may not agree with  all their ideas, they have thrust critical thinking and rational thought to the forefront despite harsh opposition.

Third was that the book is not just about the strengths of the characters, but their weakness as well.  It's sobering when you think about it.

A lot of people have had reservations about the movie.  Many fear that it won't  be any good and Hollywood will only F-it up.  Is this a possibility?  You bet.  I read a comment from someone that stated, and I'm para phrasing "I learned my lesson when Hollywood Fucked up Star Ship Troopers"  Well Is the question is did Hollywood F-up Star-ship Troopers (book)?  The answer is no!  A book is not a movie and a movie is not a book.  If you look at the movie on it's own,  it's a fun/good movie.  Not the best, but fun never the less.  Because of the movie, I was able to get my son  to read the book, and he loved it.  He loved it enough that at this very moment he is reading The Cat who Walks Through Walls.

My point is that the movie, will never be the book, but may become a catalyst or even an advertisement for the book.  The moral/philosophical story of Atlas Shrugged will effect you on a personal level.  If you have not read it, please do.  (It's time for me to re read it myself)  And demand the truth......

“People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I've learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one's reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person one's master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person's view requires to be faked.”

— Hank Rearden